England international footballer Dele Alli was left red-faced after TV cameras caught him giving the single-digit salute on the pitch during a World Cup Russia 2018 qualifying match.

During the game versus Slovakia at Wembley on Monday, TV cameras captured midfielder Dele going down under a challenge from defender Martin Škrtel. When his appeals for a foul fall on deaf ears and play continues, Dele rises, before walking back up field and making the explicit middle finger gesture.

“I’ve not seen, but I’ve been made aware of it. Dele and Kyle were mucking about and Dele’s made a gesture towards Kyle,” Southgate said in the post-match press conference, BBC Sport reported.

“So I don’t know what’s been visible on the picture and what the angle of the picture is but the pair of them, they’ve got a strange way of communicating, that’s what they’ve said when I’ve raised [the issue]. As I said I haven’t seen it.”

However, despite the explanation of the matter, FIFA announced it is gathering evidence on the matter, meaning Dele may face disciplinary action regardless.

"Please note that we are gathering evidence and cannot comment further at this stage," a FIFA spokesman told Press Association Sport when asked if they were looking into the incident.

England won the game 2-1 despite going 1-0 down courtesy of a Stanislav Lobotka goal after three minutes. Goals from Eric Dier and then man-of-the-match Marcus Rashford, who was at fault for the opener, eventually earned England the three points on home soil.